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STOCKS TO WATCH: AT&T, Digital Insight, Novell, and Williams Communications

2 min read

Stocks to watch for Friday include AT&T, Digital Insight, Novell, and Williams Communications:

  • AT&T (NYSE: T)

    Ma Bell went with the curt and cryptic approach to address rumors about Excite@Home:

    "We continue to explore many alternatives with respect to our Internet strategy and our ownership interest in Excite@Home. The alternatives include internal options as well as discussions with third parties. The exploration of alternatives remains at the very preliminary stage, and at this time, AT&T has not made any decision to pursue any particular alternative or transaction."

    Make of it what you will.

  • Novell Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL)

    Novell Inc. Senior Vice President Christopher Stone, the number two executive who gets nearly as much credit as CEO Eric Schmidt for turning the company around, is resigning on October 15.

    Officials said the parting was amiable.

    It marks Novell's third executive departure in four months. As one Novell employee who requested anonymity put it, "We've got to get our executive house in order. That's three key positions gone that haven't been filled."

  • Williams Communications Group Inc. (NYSE: WCG)

    The Wall Street debut Friday of Williams Communications Group Inc. is expected to meet hearty investor demand as analysts laud the aggressive growth strategy and respected parent company behind the fiber-optic network owner.

    The Tulsa, Okla.-based firm, being spun off of energy giant Williams Cos. Inc., is slated to sell 29.6 million shares at an offering price of $23. Williams Communications could raise $680 million through the deal, which is being underwritten by Salomon Smith Barney, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch, making it one of the biggest deals this year.

  • Digital Insight Inc. (Nasdaq: DGIN)

    The provider of online banking services to community banks priced its IPO at $15 a share on Thursday night. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter leads the underwriting team for the 3.5 million-share offering.

    In the first six months of this year, Digital Insight lost $3.6 million on revenue of $7 million.>